Castro makes first appearance in 6 weeks

Ailing Cuban leader, 80, shown on TV ridiculing rumors of his demise

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An image from Cuban state television shows Fidel Castro reading a newspaper on Saturday. The 80-year-old Cuban leader, who temporarily ceded power to his brother in July following intestinal surgery, had not been seen since mid-September.

HAVANA — Photographs of Fidel Castro standing and talking on the phone were published Sunday in Cuba’s state-run media, a day after the ailing leader appeared in a video to dispel rumors he was on his deathbed.

The Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde dedicated its front page to the Cuban president, printing a blown-up picture of a pensive Castro with the title “Always fighting for something, and fighting with optimism!”

The 80-year-old Cuban leader, who temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul in July following intestinal surgery, had not been seen since mid-September when photographs of him receiving world leaders at a summit in Havana were released.

The latest photos apparently were taken during the filming of a video broadcast Saturday, in which Castro, looking thin and tired, was shown walking slowly but steadily in an unidentified room and reading in a loud voice from Saturday’s edition of Granma, the Communist Party daily newspaper.

“They’ve declared me moribund prematurely,” he said. “But it pleases me to send my compatriots and friends this small video.”

He said his recovery would be prolonged and not without risk but added he was making good progress.

“I am coming along just as planned ... I feel whole,” he said. “I’m not the least bit afraid of what will occur.”

He called rumors of his death ridiculous and insulting, claiming they were the work of his enemies.

“Let’s see what they say now,” he said.

‘To work, to fight’Castro, dressed in a red, white and blue track suit, said he was trying to help those currently in charge of the government as much as he could while he recovers.

“I participate in the most important decisions with my comrades from the leadership of the (Communist) Party and the government,” he said. “I do everything possible to support my comrades, and to be useful.”

The rumors “motivate me to work, to fight,” he said.

The Cuban government has treated Castro’s ailment as a state secret, and rumors that he may have died had intensified in recent weeks. He has not made a public appearance since July 26, a few days before he underwent surgery.

Cuban officials attending the inauguration of a ballet festival Saturday night said they were thrilled to see the images of Castro.

“This is excellent news for everyone — all Cubans, and all of Cuba’s friends,” Vice President Carlos Lage said.

The video shown Saturday came a day after Castro’s close friend and ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the Cuban leader was walking and taking trips at night into the countryside.

Bolivian President Evo Morales said Saturday that Castro would return to office “in two or three weeks.”

A top Cuban official previously said he expected Castro back at the helm by December, when the country plans to hold a belated birthday celebration for the leader, who turned 80 on Aug. 13.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said Sunday on CNN’s “Late Edition” that it did not matter whether Fidel was in power or not.

“We don’t think there’s going to be a change, whether it’s Fidel or Raul or anybody else who’s part of the communist infrastructure. What we want is free elections in Cuba, freedom for political prisoners and a multiparty system,” she said.